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Desmond Tutu, South African equality activist and Nobel Peace Prize
winner, dead at 90

The Associated Press · Posted: Dec 26, 2021 6:39 AM ET | Last Updated: December 27

Desmond Tutu, South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for
racial justice and LGBT rights and retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape
Town, has died, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced
Sunday. He was 90.

An uncompromising foe of apartheid — South Africa's brutal regime of oppression against the Black majority — Tutu worked tirelessly, though non-violently, for its downfall.

The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first Black
bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town, as well as
frequent public demonstrations to galvanize public opinion against
racial inequity both at home and globally.

Tutu's death on Sunday "is another chapter of bereavement in our
nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who
have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," Ramaphosa said in a
statement.

Desmond Tutu, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent fight
against apartheid in South Africa, died at the age of 90. Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau was one of several world leaders who paid
tribute to Tutu, calling him a tireless advocate for human rights.
2:19

Tutu died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Center in Cape Town, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Trust said in a statement on Sunday.

Tutu had been hospitalized several times since 2015, after being
diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997.

In recent years he and his wife, Leah, lived in a retirement community
outside Cape Town.

'The people's archbishop'

Throughout the 1980s — when South Africa was gripped by anti-apartheid violence and a state of emergency giving police and the military
sweeping powers — Tutu was one of the most prominent Black residents
able to speak out against abuses.

A lively wit lightened Tutu's hard-hitting messages and warmed
otherwise grim protests, funerals and marches. Short, plucky,
tenacious, he was a formidable force, and apartheid leaders learned
not to discount his canny talent for quoting apt scriptures to harness righteous support for change.

The Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 highlighted his stature as one of the
world's most effective champions for human rights, a responsibility he
took seriously for the rest of his life.

With the end of apartheid and South Africa's first democratic
elections in 1994, Tutu celebrated the country's multi-racial society,
calling it a "rainbow nation," a phrase that captured the heady
optimism of the moment.

Nicknamed "the Arch," Tutu was diminutive, with an impish sense of
humour, but he became a towering figure in his nation's history —
comparable to fellow Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela, a prisoner during
white rule who became South Africa's first Black president. Tutu and
Mandela shared a commitment to building a better, more equal South
Africa.

In 1990, after 27 years in prison, Mandela spent his first night of
freedom at Tutu's residence in Cape Town. Later, Mandela called Tutu
"the people's archbishop."

Upon becoming president in 1994, Mandela appointed Tutu to be chairman
of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which uncovered the abuses
of the apartheid system.
Advocated for LGBT rights

Tutu campaigned internationally for human rights, especially LGBT
rights and same-sex marriage.

"I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I
feel about this," he said in 2013, launching a campaign for LGBT
rights in Cape Town. "I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No,
I would say, 'Sorry, I would much rather go to the other place.'"

Tutu said he was "as passionate about this campaign [for LGBT rights]
as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level." He
was one of the most prominent religious leaders to advocate for LGBT
rights. Tutu's very public stance put him at odds with many in South
Africa and across the continent, as well as within the Anglican
church.

South Africa, Tutu said, was a nation of promise for racial
reconciliation and equality, even though he grew disillusioned with
the African National Congress, the anti-apartheid movement that became
the ruling party in 1994 elections. His outspoken remarks long after
apartheid sometimes angered partisans, who accused him of being biased
or out of touch.

Tutu was particularly incensed by the South African government's
refusal to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama, preventing the Tibetan
spiritual leader from attending Tutu's 80th birthday celebration, as
well as a planned gathering of Nobel laureates in Cape Town. South
Africa rejected Tutu's accusations that it was bowing to pressure from
China, a major trading partner.

Early in 2016, Tutu defended the reconciliation policy that ended
white minority rule amid increasing frustration among some South
Africans who felt they had not seen the expected economic
opportunities and other benefits since apartheid ended. Tutu had
chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that investigated
atrocities under apartheid and granted amnesty to some perpetrators,
but some people believe more former white officials should have been prosecuted.

A teacher first

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on Oct. 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, west of Johannesburg, and became a teacher before entering St. Peter's
Theological College in Rosetenville in 1958 for training as a priest.
He was ordained in 1961 and six years later became chaplain at the
University of Fort Hare. Moves to the tiny southern African kingdom of
Lesotho and to Britain followed, with Tutu returning home in 1975.

He became bishop of Lesotho, chairman of the South African Council of
Churches and, in 1985, the first Black Anglican bishop of
Johannesburg. In 1986, he became the first Black Archbishop of Cape
Town. He ordained women priests and promoted gay priests.

Tutu was arrested in 1980 for taking part in a protest and later had
his passport confiscated for the first time. He got it back for trips
to the United States and Europe, where he held talks with the UN
secretary general, the Pope and other church leaders.
Tutu delivers a sermon at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto on June
23, 1985, protesting against the South African raid into Botswana.
(Gideon Mendel/AFP/Getty Images)

Tutu often conducted funeral services after the massacres that marked
the negotiating period of 1990-94. He railed against Black-on-Black
political violence, asking crowds, "Why are we doing this to
ourselves?" In one powerful moment, Tutu defused the rage of thousands
of mourners in a township soccer stadium after the Boipatong massacre
of 42 people in 1992, leading the crowd in chants proclaiming their
love of God and themselves.

After Mandela became president in 1994, he asked Tutu to head the
truth commission to promote racial reconciliation. The panel listened
to harrowing testimony about torture, killings and other atrocities
during apartheid. At some hearings, Tutu wept openly.

"Without forgiveness, there is no future," he said at the time. The commission's 1998 report lay most of the blame on the forces of
apartheid, but it also found the African National Congress guilty of
human rights violations. The ANC sued to block the document's release,
earning a rebuke from Tutu. "I didn't struggle in order to remove one
set of those who thought they were tin gods to replace them with
others who are tempted to think they are," Tutu said.

Asked once how he wanted to be remembered, he told The Associated
Press: "He loved. He laughed. He cried. He was forgiven. He forgave.
Greatly privileged."

Tutu is survived by his wife of 66 years and their four children.
Prince Harry, left, looks on as Tutu waves at people during his visit
to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town in 2015.
(Schalk van Zuydam/The Associated Press)
The world reacts

Leaders and celebrities around the world expressed their condolences
following the announcement of Tutu's death.

"Throughout a remarkable life, Archbishop Tutu used his vision of interconnectedness, equality and forgiveness to advocate for a better,
more peaceful world," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a
statement.

"While he was best known for his non-violent opposition to apartheid
in South Africa and work to heal divisions as the 'Rainbow Nation'
moved toward democracy, his actions resonated everywhere, especially
with oppressed peoples and their struggle for freedom and equality."

U.S. President Joe Biden also shared his memories of the late
archbishop, calling him "a true servant of God and of the people."

"His legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages,"
Biden said in a statement.

Source:
<https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/desmond-tutu-obituary-1.6298421>


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